Of all the tenor saxophonists who have come roaring out of Lionel Hamptons band, Texas tenor Arnett Cobb always seemed the most likely to allow his essentially rich and swinging style to stand on its own merits. He demonstrated it in these relaxed, unpretentious sessions amid congenial, inventive company, including some of the most accomplished and soulful pianists around, with Ray Bryant, Tommy Flanagan, and Bobby Timmons providing some lean and lithely moving solos on these implacably swinging dates.

The setting allowed one of the most assertive of the roistering tenorists to work his way into piece after piece, developing gracefully structured lines in his rough, tweedy tone. Forceful, virile and uncomplicated, an assertive reflection of its time and place, the music retains the capacity to reach directly into the emotions, unhindered by the passage of time.

Original sessions supervised by Esmond Edwards Photos and cover design also by Esmond Edwards

Compiled for CD release by Jordi Pujol

Stereo · 24-Bit Digitally Remastered

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Note: All tracks in this compilation are ordered by session. That is why Fast Ride and Down by the Riverside have been moved from their original LP and put in the corresponding session order.

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Review:

"Arnett Cobb (who was born Aug. 10th 95 years ago) is always identified as a prime example of the Texas tenor player, maybe the prime example, along with the man whose place he took in Lionel Hamptons band in 1942, Illinois Jacquet. Its worth noting that almost all of the well-known tenor saxophonists to hail from that state during the Swing and modern eras shared general stylistic tendencies, but the important thing in every case is what each player did with them.

is what each player did with them. This two-CD set is comprised of three of the six LPs that Cobb recorded during 1959-60. Since he only had one earlier date (in 1951) and would not return to the studio thereafter until 1971, we can say that this one release contains half of his prime output. And prime it is. All three dates feature the usual horn-withrhythm section, plus conga drum. Piano duties are divided between Ray Bryant, Tommy Flanagan and Bobby Timmons, with Wendell Marshall or Sam Jones on bass and Art Taylor on drums throughout. One might think that the absence of another horn might conspire with the fact that congas can start sounding samey after a while to make it hard to stay interested, but not if one really understands what kind of soloist Cobb was during this period. When he replaced Jacquet with Hampton, Cobb took over the tenor feature Flying Home and so thoroughly put his own stamp on it that by the time he left the band in 1947, most fans had forgotten the original. Moreover, one senses when listening to his performance of the tune on Party Time that Cobb enjoyed answering requests for it during his post-Hampton years. He runs through many of the stock devices that he and Jacquet bequeathed to the world of barwalking tenor players, but also shows that he had developed that extroverted vocabulary further, in unique ways. Even more impressive is the down blues that follows, Slow Poke, on which he evokes Ben Webster at his dirtiest.

Cobb is equally impressive with ballads and folksy fare like Down by the Riverside or Lonesome Road, but perhaps the strongest impression is left by sly settings of chestnuts like Lover Come Back to Me and When My Dreamboat Comes Home, as well as medium tempo blues romps like The Nitty Gritty."